HP dv series' lack of TV tuner?

We've all noticed the lack of a "built-in" TV tuner being shown on their website. When will it be coming out?

I called and they want to sell me a PCMCIA "express card" or something, like the old generation laptops had. IMO this is not "built-in."

 

I asked them about that and this is the response I received:

I understand you have a question as to when would be the TV tuner option available for HP Pavilion dv5t and dv7t notebook PC. The notebooks garnered a lot of attention and we have received numerous inquiries about it. Regretfully, we do not become aware of the component release dates until shortly before they are available to our customers, and as such, cannot provide an exact date.



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We need someone to ballpark the release date, and if the current laptops they're selling will be able to add the card later. If I can add it later, great. I'll do that.

I'm buying the laptop for school, so I'll need it by late August. If they're going to release it after then, I'll just buy a Dell Studio or XPS just to spite them.

 

As hot as those things run and considering the heat failure issues laptops have been showing as of late, I would not want an internal unit. I have an express card unit and would probably buy a USB/totally external unit if I were doing it all over again.

 

where would the internal TV tuner even be on the laptop? they have so many ports on there...not much room for an internal tv tuner.

 

USB isn't fast enough to capture HD.

 

No idea. Don't know why they'd advertise it, if they don't plan on selling it.

 

I talked to a tech support person on the phone and she patched me through to the supervisor, he said that the dv7t has a built in attenna for tv, I also asked about a port that would be used to hook up a coaxial. He said that there is one that is able to be hooked up to the right of the disc drive slot. Now I have looked all over about info on this TV tuner. One review website that had an early peak at the dv7t said that the reception was poor, but that there was in fact over the air signal reception capability. I looked at the ports and there is an actual port in the pictures for a coaxial. Like I said the people I talked to said it would be possible to hook up the cable. I also checked the drivers page for the laptop. There are current drivers for a "hybread TV tuner" I dont know what to think. I really would like one though. I plan on just buying the laptop and if it doesn't come with one I will buy the 54 slot card sepertally.

 

Can you link the picture of the dv7t?

 

Here is a link to the picture of the TV tuner. It is the yellow input next to the disc drive.
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/newgallery.aspx?id=16453&img=8

 

Here is an e-mail I just received from HP, what do you guys make of it?

Hello Daniel,

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

From your E-mail, I understand that you want to know if there is a built in TV Tuner Card and a "Over the Air" receptor in the HP Pavilion dv7-1000 CTO Notebook PC.

I understand your concern. Let me assist you in this regard.

Daniel, I would like to inform you that, HP Pavilion dv7-1000 series is bundled with a TV Tuner Card and a TV Tuner Antenna which are optional components.

The notebook features an optional integrated TV tuner. The notebook supports the following integrated TV tuners—with TV tuner antennas for both DVB-T and ATSC/NTSC—for the various regions:

ATSC/NTSC/QAM Hybrid TV Tuner — US
WW Analog/DVB-T TV Tuner — APJ
DVB-T Tuner — EMEA

If you are ordering a Customized To Order Notebook (CTO) then you can specify the TV Tuner Card to be included. For more information, please visit the below mentioned URL:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/series/category/notebooks/dv7t_series/3/computer_store

 

Here's where it is on the DV5


also, does the tv tuner need to be plugged in to able to watch tv on the laptop?
because i thought you could just watch tv anywhere

 

Dabman - that doesn't really say anything other than "we can ship a tv-tuner with the notebook"

 

Why did the notebook received from HP by Laptop mag. Have a built in tuner? Have you seen the pics bud?

 

Good question dab

 

I asked the salesperson I talked to and they didn't know.

 

Here is the latest e-mail in the series of Tuner questions I have asked:

Daniel,

Thank you for writing back.

Daniel, I have gone through the database and found that, the yellow port beside the optical drive is the MCX connector and I am glad to say that you can connect the coaxial cable to the connector.

Hope the information provided was helpful with regard to your concern. If you need further assistance, please reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,

Gladys

HP Total Care

Do you guys think the "MCX" connector will receive TV signals and interpret them correctally. I googled MCX connector and it said something about broadband in wikipedia. Why wouth they make a direct broadband connection as well as an ethernet connection?

 

Here is the lastest about the TV tuner

Hello Daniel,

Thank you for writing back to us.

Daniel, please be informed that you can connect and view the TV on Laptop using the Coaxial connector on Notebook.

For more information regarding running Media Center setup to watch TV on Laptop please refer to the following link:

http://www.krunker.com/2006/10/08/windows-vista-rc1-media-center-setup/

NOTE: The URL above will take you to a non HP Web site. HP does not control and is not responsible for information outside of the HP Web site.

I am sure the above information helps you. If you require further assistance or if the problem persists, please contact us anytime. We are committed to ensuring your satisfaction with our products, as well as our service. We will be glad to assist you further.

Sincerely,

Martin
HP Total Care

I just E-mailed the editor at Laptop Magazine to see how they connected up the TV tuner. Hopefully we will understand this all here soon.